El Tour de Tucson is coming soon--it's less than a month away. I rode my first El Tour in 2002. That was the year after I had major neck surgery. I was cycling a lot at the time and even though my time was nothing to brag about (just shy of seven hours), it was good for me: I'm notoriously slow in just about any activity I do, always have been. I set a goal at that time that I would ride at least twenty El Tours de Tucson. I have ridden every year since then except for last year. I was underprepared and dilly dallied until it was too late to register without going bankrupt. There were also two years that I only rode the thirty-five mile event. The first year I did that it was because my two daughters rode with me. They did a great job. I was very proud of them both but maybe especially proud of Stephanie who bonked herself silly to the point where her legs were twitching like mad but still finished the ride along with her sister and me. She even made a mad dash at the end that forced Tina and I to catch up with her! I decided that year that only the full tour route would count toward my goal of twenty El Tours. The other time I rode the short route was when Joan agreed to ride with me as part of a company team--her company was one of the sponsors and several of her co-workers rode the tour as well.
Since my "retirement" I have not ridden as much as in the past. A lot of my miles came from my commute which was a minimum of thirty miles round trip. I say minimum because I had various routes that I would take and could make my daily commute as long as seventy-six miles round trip! Now I make due with weekend rides and the occasional early morning ride. I lack discipline, though, and those early morning rides are rare--I have a hard time getting out of bed at five in the morning (and it's only going to get harder as the weather gets colder).
But I'm signed up for the Tour this year and am looking forward to it. I am sure it will take me a very long time given my lack of preparation. And, unfortunately, Joan will be out of town for her mother's eightieth birthday so I won't get my mid-ride meet and greet with her. I'll also be riding my touring bike, so that's not going to make me any faster, either. But I did eighty miles a couple of Sundays ago and hope to do a hundred this Sunday. Cross your fingers,
